CAS-005 Exam Guide: Cost, Format and Study Plan

CAS-005 is the exam for CompTIA SecurityX, an advanced security certification. It mixes multiple-choice with hands-on performance-based items, and costs $544.00 at list price. Our voucher costs $224.99.

The exam is commonly listed as up to 90 questions in 165 minutes. Confirm those figures on CompTIA's exam page before you book.

What SecurityX proves and who should take it

SecurityX shows you can design and run security at an enterprise level, not just operate tools. It is aimed at senior practitioners: security architects, senior security engineers, and lead analysts who make design decisions.

CompTIA previously called this level CASP+. SecurityX is the current name for the advanced tier, and CAS-005 is its exam code.

CompTIA commonly recommends around 10 years of general IT experience, including about 5 years of hands-on security work. These are recommendations, not hard gates. Confirm the current wording on CompTIA's exam objectives page before you book.

Exam format at a glance

Question count and length can change between exam versions, so check CompTIA's exam page for the current numbers.

Performance-based questions put you in a simulated task. You might read a log, adjust a configuration, or choose controls for a scenario. They take longer than multiple-choice items, so they shape your pacing.

Skills measured and domain weights

CAS-005 is organized into four domains. Weights as commonly listed for CAS-005; confirm them in the official exam objectives before you plan your study time.

Security Engineering is the biggest slice. Security Architecture is second. Together they are 58% of the exam, so spend your lab time there.

Expect topics such as zero trust design, identity and access management, cloud and hybrid architecture, cryptography and PKI, automation, threat hunting, incident response, and risk and compliance decisions. Newer objectives also touch AI-related security concerns.

Cost: list price vs our voucher

As of 2026-11-07, CompTIA's official exam price is $544.00 (USD), as published by the vendor. Our CAS-005 CompTIA SecurityX voucher costs $224.99. That is about 59% below list.

Here is how the voucher works:

• The code is emailed within 12 hours of payment and also appears in your account.

• It is valid for 12 months and is redeemed with Pearson VUE.

• You can cancel for a full refund before delivery.

• After delivery, the code is non-refundable unless Pearson VUE rejects it on first use as invalid, already used or expired. Then contact support within 14 days with your order number and a screenshot, and the code is replaced or refunded.

Full terms are on our refund policy and delivery policy pages.

Buy only when your study plan is underway. Twelve months is generous, but it is easy to lose track of.

A realistic 12-week study plan

This plan assumes 8 to 10 hours a week, about 100 to 120 hours total. If you work in security daily, you can compress it. If cloud or cryptography is new to you, stretch it to 14 weeks.

Lab commands worth running

Hands-on practice helps with the performance-based items. These commands cover common objective areas. Run them only on systems you own or have permission to test.

openssl s_client -connect example.com:443 -tls1_3
openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -text
nmap -sV -p 22,80,443 192.168.56.10
sudo auditctl -w /etc/passwd -p wa -k passwd_changes
sudo ausearch -k passwd_changes

The first two inspect TLS and certificate details. Nmap shows service exposure. The audit commands show how to watch a sensitive file for changes.

Worked example: a weekly loop

Say you have 9 hours in week 3. Spend 3 hours reading about zero trust and segmentation. Spend 4 hours building a small lab with two VMs and a firewall rule set. Spend 2 hours on practice questions, and write down why each wrong answer was wrong.

That last step matters most. SecurityX questions often ask for the best answer among several workable ones. Your notes teach you how the exam ranks trade-offs.

Common mistakes

• Reading only. Performance-based items reward people who have configured things.

• Memorizing dumps. Scenario questions change the details. Understanding survives; memorized answers do not.

• Ignoring weights. Studying governance for weeks while engineering is 31% of the exam wastes time.

• Picking the technically perfect answer. The exam often wants the answer that fits the stated business constraint, such as cost, risk appetite or timeline.

• Spending too long on early simulations. Flag them, answer the multiple-choice items, then return.

Pacing checklist

1. Do a quick pass of the first screens to see how many simulations appear.

2. Skip any performance-based item that needs more than about 8 minutes, and flag it.

3. Finish multiple-choice items first.

4. Return to flagged simulations with the time left.

5. Keep the last 10 minutes to review flagged items.

Which cert fits you?

Browse more options in our Cybersecurity certifications category.

After you pass

Update your resume and professional profiles with the SecurityX name. Add one or two concrete projects you used while studying, such as a zero trust lab design.

CompTIA certifications generally need renewal through continuing education. Check your CompTIA account for your exact renewal date and the activities that count.

Sources

• CAS-005 CompTIA SecurityX voucher

• Refund policy

• Delivery policy